District Event scheduling...

[Gary_Miller]

SMT224

 

I suggest you looking at changing your troop meeting night to another night so you and the other leaders of your unit can attend Round Tables.

 

Round Tables is just not another meeting but its a night of training for leaders. It gives you as a leader a chance to interact with other leaders and rejuvenate your commitment to the youth of the organization.

[SMT224]

Gary - I agree, Round Table is very beneficial - I went to almost every one for nearly nine years, until they changed the RT night to our Troop meeting night about a year ago. They seem to change the RT night every 3-4 years, and will likely change it again at some point in the future. When it's again on a non-Troop meeting night, I'll happily go back.

 

However, our Troop has been meeting at the same place on the same night for 63 years... that won't change. It is deeply carved in stone.

 

 

[Gary_Miller]

What did the district say was the reason for the change?

 

I would suggest that you get your COR involved at the district meeting to work on changing district meeting to a night thats convenient for all units to attend, and then not change it. IE: not on a meeting night.

 

Nothing is carved in stone. Unless there is a scheduling problem with the CO calendar the troop meeting night could be changed in order for troop leaders to attend their meeting. It just takes someone to bring it up so it can be discussed. It could be that no one ever mentioned that there was a conflict with the District Round Table.

 

Most important though is the COR working with the district to see that the round table get set in stone and never changes. That way units can plan their meeting night around Round Tables.

 

 

 

(This message has been edited by Gary_Miller)

[Oak Tree]

There's no reason the district couldn't communicate the information via email. You shouldn't have to physically appear at Roundtable just to get information.

 

There's no way I would change our troop meeting night if district changed Roundtable. People have joined the troop knowing that it meets on one particular day. They've adjusted their other activities to accommodate that. Our facility is used by other groups on other days. I'm with SMT224 - it may not be literally carved in stone, but it might as well be.

[SMT224]

Gary...

 

Whilst I concur with the importance of Round Table and District involvement, as SM, the Troop and Troop program are my primary focus. If we have enough notice of a district event, our Troop is happy to volunteer for staffing and other work beyond attendance. However, with a full time job, SM with a very active Boy Scout Troop, and camping adviser for my daughter's Girl Scout Troop, I simply do not have any time to get involved with the District.

 

As Oak Tree and others have said, the District should be able to communicate electronically and plan events in a way units can participate even if they are unable to attend RT. Per my OP, our District is struggling with this.

 

However, I'm not going to alter the Troop meeting or program to try and work with the District on this. Right now we have a very solid Troop program and group of enthusiastic Scouts who are very active in the program, and I'm not going do anything to risk that.

 

[qwazse]

224,

 

Unless someone from your troop wants to take over the district activity committee, don't expect change. Lot's of troops play fast and loose with their schedule, so there's probably no motivation for the folks planning events to change. Instead I'm suggesting pulling little from the "if you can't beat 'em ..." playbook.

 

I'd stay the course with your troop's meeting day and delegate a committee memger or ASM to attend RT. Some guys on district committee "don't do E-mail" so there's no point in even asking these hard working fellas to get you advance notice. So train your CM or ASM to be a "taker" when it comes to info. If someone even hints "hey we're thinking of doing X in the fall", your guy/gal should hound them for the usual "who", "what", "where", "how".

 

Every month your RT attendee needs to compile a list of "things in the works" at the district level and hand it off to the SPL. The following week, your PLC reviews that list and decides if anything on it warrants a change in the troop calendar.

 

Yes, this may mean you'll have to flex for something your boys decide they really want to do. But hopefully this will give you a little more than that one month lead time.

 

And, when your district commissioner talks about not seeing your troop for a while you can say, "I ran it by my boys the week after it was announced, they didn't bite!"

[SeattlePioneer]

Good ideas there qwaze!

 

 

The best and smartest Cubmaster in our district attended Roundtables infrequently, but he had a committee member there every month, taking notes. Now he's Scoutmaster and probably going to be the best and brightest at that, too --- and doing the same thing.

 

Your post reminds me that it's not uncommon for things to be announced at Roundtable and not very much elsewhere. A troop in our district put together an excellent "Haunted Hike" for Halloween which was excellent, but about the only notice of it was at Roundtable.

 

As Roundtable Commissioner, your post suggested to me that I could be collecting those notices and e-mailing announcements out to my list of unit leaders. I hadn't thought of that before!

 

 

I don't blame Smt for not being agreeable to changing the day of his troop meeting to attend RT. I wouldn't do that either. But having a prent attend can be worthwhile if your district has a respectable program.

 

Anyway, thanks for the idea of having Roundtable E-mail Announcements going out to unit leaders. That's a good 'n.